Sheeting a wing - step by step, Please!
12-01-2002, 05:08 AM
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Sheeting a wing - step by step, Please!
I am about to embark on building my first kit and need some advise. I've read the manual for this kit about a thousand times after downloading it from the net and everything looks fairly straight forward except fr sheeting the wings. The instructions say join two pieces of balsa to form a sheet and use it to cover the wing as shown on the plans. That's it. I have questions.
Do you have to we the balsa sheeting to get it to conform to the shape of the wing? do you tack an adge og the sheeting to hold alighnment first. If using CA how the heck to you get glue on all the ribs and get the sheeting down before the glue dries or dissapears into the ribs? If I use wood glue, how do I get even pressure over the sheeting while it dries?
Help!?!?
Do you have to we the balsa sheeting to get it to conform to the shape of the wing? do you tack an adge og the sheeting to hold alighnment first. If using CA how the heck to you get glue on all the ribs and get the sheeting down before the glue dries or dissapears into the ribs? If I use wood glue, how do I get even pressure over the sheeting while it dries?
Help!?!?
12-01-2002, 05:34 AM
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Sheeting a wing - step by step, Please!
It's likely you will only be asked to sheet the leading edge of the wing.
Start by cutting the sheet approximately to size, making sure the leading edge of the sheet is perfectly straight; cutting it with a new blade in your knife, using a long steel straight edge ruler.
Make sure there are no proud points, maybe created by blobs of glue, looking carefully at the junction between the ribs and the leading edge to make sure the sheeting fit along the LE is a good one with no gaps.
Start gluing the edge along behind the leading edge. There are two methods for gluing the leading edge depending on the shape. Either place the sheet along the edge of the LE, carefully dropping thin CA along the joint between the sheet and LE as you work your way along the span of the wing. Or, put a bead of thick CA along the edge of the sheet, place it against the back length of the LE, sticking it there with scotch tape.
Whichever way you use, the sheet will be sticking up at am backward angle from the LE of the wing until the glue dries.
Next, depending on how flexible the sheet is, (you can wet it to help the bend down to the spar), bend the sheet down, and using the long steel rule, cut it to length, probably along the back edge of the spar, or wherever the plans say you should.
Then carefully bend the sheet away from the ribs, and drip thick CA down the edges of the ribs, as far towards the LE as possible, and along the top of the spar. Now bend the sheet down, while pulling it away from the LE, so it lies against the top of each rib, with no gap, and down on the spar. Keep the sheet there by pressing the edge of the long steel rule against the sheet, parallel to the spar, but about 1/8 inch from it. While holding it there, you could wipe away any excess glue from the spar/sheet edge (this makes it easier for any rib cap strips to be added afterwards, as there won't be any glue to hinder their fit).
Hold there until the glue sets enough not to move when you take the steel rule away. Wetting the sheet actually acts as a slight accelerator for CA glue which should help.
Sand, but only using a long sanding block, so that no dips between the ribs are created.
There are many variations to the above, as everybody has their favourite methods, but it should work!
One further point:- Remember that the first time the wing has any stability to it is after the sheeting has been added, so that is the time any warps are either created or removed. Take time making sure the wing is pressed down against the flat building board, and the straight wing you create will be strongly held in that position by the sheeting.
Hope all that helped!
David C.
Start by cutting the sheet approximately to size, making sure the leading edge of the sheet is perfectly straight; cutting it with a new blade in your knife, using a long steel straight edge ruler.
Make sure there are no proud points, maybe created by blobs of glue, looking carefully at the junction between the ribs and the leading edge to make sure the sheeting fit along the LE is a good one with no gaps.
Start gluing the edge along behind the leading edge. There are two methods for gluing the leading edge depending on the shape. Either place the sheet along the edge of the LE, carefully dropping thin CA along the joint between the sheet and LE as you work your way along the span of the wing. Or, put a bead of thick CA along the edge of the sheet, place it against the back length of the LE, sticking it there with scotch tape.
Whichever way you use, the sheet will be sticking up at am backward angle from the LE of the wing until the glue dries.
Next, depending on how flexible the sheet is, (you can wet it to help the bend down to the spar), bend the sheet down, and using the long steel rule, cut it to length, probably along the back edge of the spar, or wherever the plans say you should.
Then carefully bend the sheet away from the ribs, and drip thick CA down the edges of the ribs, as far towards the LE as possible, and along the top of the spar. Now bend the sheet down, while pulling it away from the LE, so it lies against the top of each rib, with no gap, and down on the spar. Keep the sheet there by pressing the edge of the long steel rule against the sheet, parallel to the spar, but about 1/8 inch from it. While holding it there, you could wipe away any excess glue from the spar/sheet edge (this makes it easier for any rib cap strips to be added afterwards, as there won't be any glue to hinder their fit).
Hold there until the glue sets enough not to move when you take the steel rule away. Wetting the sheet actually acts as a slight accelerator for CA glue which should help.
Sand, but only using a long sanding block, so that no dips between the ribs are created.
There are many variations to the above, as everybody has their favourite methods, but it should work!
One further point:- Remember that the first time the wing has any stability to it is after the sheeting has been added, so that is the time any warps are either created or removed. Take time making sure the wing is pressed down against the flat building board, and the straight wing you create will be strongly held in that position by the sheeting.
Hope all that helped!
David C.
12-02-2002, 03:08 PM
#4
Sheeting a wing - step by step, Please!
As far as joining two sheets goes, I have a method that I really like.
Butt the two pieces together with the good side facing down, and sand the top of the seam. This is going to fill any spaces between to two with sawdust. Lightly blow off the sawdust on the surface (don't blow too hard, you want the dust in the seam to stay there). Now quickly run a bead of thin CA down the seam and immediately SAND IT AGAIN!
You will find that his method WILL ruin a sheet of sandpaper, but sandpaper is cheap, and it will give you a joint that is perfectly flat and will NEVER break.
Butt the two pieces together with the good side facing down, and sand the top of the seam. This is going to fill any spaces between to two with sawdust. Lightly blow off the sawdust on the surface (don't blow too hard, you want the dust in the seam to stay there). Now quickly run a bead of thin CA down the seam and immediately SAND IT AGAIN!
You will find that his method WILL ruin a sheet of sandpaper, but sandpaper is cheap, and it will give you a joint that is perfectly flat and will NEVER break.
